[2x19; Klaus]
Luciana sat patiently on the stone floor of her family's hut, watching as her older brother mixed together red berries and some other ingredients—he had explained to her what they were but she hadn't paid much attention—into a thin paste. Once Niklaus was finished with his creation, he sat back in satisfaction.
"And that, my dear Luciana, is how you make a lighter red," he told her with a gentle smile.
Luciana grinned and leaned forward, dipping the tip of her finger into the red paste. She smeared it on the piece of fabric Niklaus had pulled out, admiring the beautiful color it left behind.
"I like red," she decided happily. "Can you teach me to mix blue next, Nik?"
Niklaus smiled fondly. "You and blue," he shook his head and pulled a nearby bowl in front of him. There were blueberries already in the bowl, along with yellow dandelions and green leaves.
Niklaus set to work, grinding the ingredients together while Luciana watched curiously, memorizing every step he followed. When he was finally finished, Luciana was delighted with the darker blue paint that he produced.
"It is beautiful, Nik!" she exclaimed as Niklaus brushed some of the paint on the same strip of fabric. "Will you paint me a picture?"
"Even better, love," Niklaus straightened the fabric so it was centered between them. "I will teach you to paint."
Luciana beamed at her older brother and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much, Niklaus!"
"There is nothing I would not do for you, Luciana."
"Lucy!" Lucy heard someone hiss through the memory she was having of Luciana and Klaus. "Lucy, wake up!"
Lucy grunted and rolled over, burying her face into her pillow. She yelped as she was forcefully pulled away from it and her blanket was ripped out of her grasp. She popped her eyes open to see Elena hovering over her.
"Lena, what are you doing?" she groaned.
"Shh!" Elena hissed quietly. "Get dressed. Elijah's downstairs waiting for us."
The weariness left Lucy's brain as she sat up and gave Elena a wide-eyed look. "Elijah?" she whispered. "Lena, what did you do?"
It didn't take a genius to figure out what Elena did; she obviously undaggered Elijah but the question was why. Elena was all for daggering Elijah a few weeks ago—but that answer was kind of obvious, too. No one—other than Katherine, who was missing or dead—knew how to deal with Klaus. Elijah was their only option.
Still, did Stefan and Damon know about this?
"Get dressed," Elena urged her. "Hurry and meet me in the car."
Lucy nodded and, after Elena left the guest room she declared as hers, got dressed in some casual jeans and a sweatshirt. She finished getting ready and snuck into the kitchen to grab some fruit snacks—Stefan had stocked up on them since Lucy was staying there—before leaving the Boarding House.
Elena and Elijah were already in the vehicle; she slid into the backseat and ripped open her fruit snacks as Elena started driving away.
"Hi, Elijah," Lucy greeted him with a small, sheepish smile. She hadn't wanted to dagger him, but she hadn't exactly objected to it, either. "Sorry about the whole, um, dagger thing."
Elijah didn't reply but Lucy didn't blame him because he was currently sucking down the second of three blood bags that Elena had stolen for him. He finished the blood and calmly tore open the third, far less frantic as he drank from it.
Elena eventually pulled off to the side of the roads near their neighborhood.
She turned to Elijah with a hesitant expression. "You look better."
"Where did you get the dagger?" Elijah asked bluntly.
"We'll tell you everything," Elena promised, exchanging a look with Lucy, who nodded in agreement. "but we have to work together, Elijah. I need your word."
"Your ability to make demands has long passed."
"We're not making any demands," Lucy leaned forward so her head was between their seats. "We want your help in exchange for ours. No threats, no secret plans, no dagger."
Elijah's eyes darted between the sisters. "And why should I even consider this?"
"The same reason that you haven't killed me," Elena said confidently. "You need my help to kill Klaus and we need you."
Lucy's phone started buzzing, vibrating against her thigh. She sighed when she saw that Stefan was calling her and answered the call, quickly putting it on speakerphone so Elena could hear what her boyfriend had to say.
"Hey, Stefan..."
"Where are you guys?" Stefan asked immediately. "Elena's not answering her phone and neither of you are here. Are you okay?"
Lucy rolled her eyes at his rapid questioning. "We're fine, Stefan. Elena, say hello."
"Hey, Stefan."
"Where's Elijah?" Stefan's voice was firm.
"He's right here," Lucy answered. "Safe and sound in Elena's passenger seat."
"I'm on my way."
"No, Stefan," Elena objected strictly. "Elijah, Lucy, and I need some time alone."
"Both of you listen to me. He can't be trusted," Stefan tried to convince them to come back. "He'll use both of you to get to Klaus."
"Elijah is a noble man, Stefan," Elena looked straight at Elijah as she spoke. "He lives by a code of honor. We can trust him. He knows that we'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By removing the dagger, I have proven myself."
"You can't do this alone."
"It's my decision, Stefan," Elena pressed her lips together. "Please respect it."
"And make sure that Damon doesn't do anything stupid," Lucy added. "Talk later, yeah?"
"No, Lucy—"
Lucy hung up the call and looked pointedly at Elijah. He nodded slightly and expectantly held out his hand toward her phone. Lucy sighed and placed her phone in his hand, Elena giving up hers as well.
"So why take the dagger out now?" Elijah asked Elena once he put their phones in his pocket.
"He's here."
"Klaus is here?" Elijah breathed, his nostrils flaring.
Lucy nodded. "He's taken over Ric's body."
"Of course," he sneered. "One of his favorite tricks."
"Well, what are his other tricks?" Elena asked. "What is he going to do next? You're the only one who knows him."
Elijah sighed. "Yes, I am," he confirmed. "but first, I'm in need of a change of clothing."
Ten minutes later, the three of them stood at the door of the Lockwood mansion, waiting for Mrs. Lockwood to let them in.
The door opened to reveal Mrs. Lockwood. "Elijah!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Elena, Lucy, what are you doing here?" her eyes swept Elijah up and down, seeing his ruined suit. "What happened?"
"I've had a bit of an incident, Carol," Elijah said politely as Lucy gave Mrs. Lockwood a closed-mouth smile. "I'm hoping you could help."
"Well, I'm on my way to a meeting, so I—"
"We won't take a minute of your time," Elijah cut her off, compelling her to let them inside.
Lucy gaped at them; Mrs. Lockwood had probably worn vervain for almost her whole life.
Mrs. Lockwood smiled perkily and let them into the house. "Of course. Anything you need."
"Thank you," Elijah smiled pleasantly as Lucy and Elena followed him into the house. "Well, first things first, I'm going to need a change of clothing."
"Well, we can try one of my husband's suits," Mrs. Lockwood suggested. "I haven't boxed them up yet."
Elijah grinned. "Wonderful."
Mrs. Lockwood smiled back before heading upstairs to pick out a suit for Elijah.
"How did you know she's not on vervain?" Elena asked Elijah when she was out of sight.
"I'm the one who got her off it," Elijah answered simply. "Right before you and your friends killed me. Twice."
Lucy grimaced; it looked like Elijah was still irritated about the whole daggering him thing.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll be done in a moment," Elijah excused himself, going upstairs to change.
-
"So, I assume that the Martin witches are no longer with us," Elijah, dressed in a clean suit, stated as he picked up the cup of tea Mrs. Lockwood set out before she left for her meeting.
Lucy frowned, remembering the witches that Elijah brought with him. Jonas and Luka just wanted their family back—and Lucy understood that—but unfortunately, it didn't come to be.
"No," she whispered. "I'm sorry."
"And Katerina?" Elijah continued, looking unbothered by the loss of Jonas and Luka. "She would have been released from my compulsion when I died."
"Klaus took her," Elena informed him. "We think that she may be dead."
Elijah shook his head. "I doubt that. It's not Klaus' style. Death would be too easy for her after what she did."
"I don't understand," Elena looked confused. "You say that you want Klaus dead, but you still made Katherine pay for betraying him."
"I have my own reasons for wanting Katerina to pay," Elijah said, his eyes hard but somewhat vacant, liking he was reliving a memory. "There was a time I'd have done anything for Klaus."
"Because he's our brother," Lucy spoke up, catching surprised looks from Elena and Elijah.
"What?" Elena breathed in shock. "Lucy, are you sure?"
The surprised look on Elijah's face fell as he looked at Lucy with a sort of understanding. She assumed that he knew she had been having memories of their family and had put together that Klaus was, indeed, Niklaus, their brother.
It shocked Lucy at first, too, but over the last few hours, especially before she went to sleep, she came around to it. It wasn't exactly that she wanted Klaus to be her brother because he had tried to kill Bonnie only a few hours earlier—and almost succeeded if it wasn't for the fact that Bonnie put a protection spell on herself—and he absolutely wanted to sacrifice Elena. It was just tough separating the timid yet gentle older brother, Niklaus, and the terrifying original vampire, Klaus.
"Yes," Elijah confirmed. "Klaus is our brother."
"I heard that," Elena said, looking between Lucy and Elijah, her mind trying to wrap around this new piece of information. "I'm still processing."
"Yes, I'm a little behind on the times but I believe the term you're searching for is 'O.M.G.'" Elijah took a sip of his tea to emphasize his statement.
Lucy bit her lip to hide the smile that was threatening to appear. None of this was funny but the casual way that Elijah delivered that line was so amusing that she wanted to laugh.
"So there's a whole family of Originals?" Elena asked Elijah as he stood up to walk over to the fireplace.
Lucy leaned forward, eager to learn more about her first family. She had memories, of course, but she was having trouble putting all of them together. As far as she knew, she had six siblings—Finn, Elijah, Niklaus, Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik—and her parents, Esther and Mikael. She wanted to know everything, though, and this seemed like a good place to start.
Elijah straightened his tie as he looked into the mirror above the mantle. "My father was a wealthy land-owner in a village in Eastern Europe," he informed them. "Our mother bore eight children, including Luciana."
"So, your parents were human?" Elena raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Our whole family was," Lucy spoke up; this was something that she actually knew.
"Our origin as vampires is a very long story," Elijah stated. "Just know, we're the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original family and from us all, vampires were created."
"Right, but Klaus is your brother," Elena said. "And you want him dead?"
Elijah stared blankly at her. "I need some air," he finally declared. "I'm still feeling a tad dead. Come."
Lucy and Elena obliged, following Elijah out of the parlor and into the large backyard. The Lockwoods owned acres of land that stretched out and was nicely maintained. It had been the host of many town celebrations that Lucy had planned and attended.
"So, as you've seen, nothing can kill an Original," Elijah continued his story as they walked through the yard. "Not sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only wood from one tree—a tree my family made sure burned."
"That's where the white ash for the dagger comes from," Lucy assumed, knowing that the ash was the only thing that could slow down an Original.
"Yes," Elijah confirmed. "The witches won't allow anything truly immortal to walk the earth. Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain the balance."
"So, if the sun can't kill an Original, why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the Sun and the Moon curse?" Elena questioned, becoming frustrated.
Elijah stopped walking and turned to Lucy and Elena, a small smirk on his face. "Right," he mused. "the curse of the Sun and the Moon. It's all so...biblical-sounding, don't you think?"
Elena gave him a confused look. "What's so funny?"
Elijah quickly told them a tale from years ago when he and Klaus reminisced about creating sketches and stories about the Sun and the Moon curse.
Lucy's mind raced with this new information. If Klaus and Elijah told stories of the curse, did it actually exist? Why were they the ones drawing sketches in caves and telling tales if the curse didn't affect them at all?
"I don't understand," Elena shook her head. "So, Klaus drew the Aztec sketches about the curse?"
"Roman scrolls, African tribal etchings, and any other culture or continent we felt like planting it."
"But why?" Elena cocked her head curiously.
"The easiest way to discover the existence of a doppelganger, our reincarnated sister, or to get your hands on some long-lost moonstone is to have every single member of two warring species on the lookout."
"So, it's not Aztec at all?"
Lucy rolled her eyes, amazed that Elena wasn't keeping up. It was simple once you thought about it. "Lena, it doesn't exist."
Elena looked between Lucy and Elijah. "What?"
"Luciana is right," he confirmed. "the curse of the Sun and the Moon is fake. It doesn't exist."
"What?"
"Klaus and I faked the Sun and the Moon curse dating back over a thousand years," Elijah explained as he continued walking again.
"But if there's no curse..." Elena struggled to find words as she and Lucy followed him again.
"There's a curse," Elijah led them over to the pond so they could walk around it. "Just not that one. The real one's much worse. It's a curse placed on Klaus."
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, remembering what Elijah told her the day of the historical tea party. "What are you talking about?"
There was a loud buzz from Elijah's suit as he answered, "Klaus has been trying to break it for the last thousand years. You two are his only hope."
The phone buzzed again as they all stopped walking once more.
"What is his curse?" Lucy wondered.
Obviously Elijah had lied to her about the curse's origins, but maybe something he said was actually true.
The phone buzzed again.
"Your phone will not stop its incessant buzzing," Elijah spat as he pulled it from his pocket and handed it to Elena. "Answer it, please."
Elena answered the call and pressed the phone to her ear. "Stefan—what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "No, no, no. Okay, we'll be right there."
"What happened?" Lucy looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"Klaus went after Jenna," Elena told her; Lucy gasped worriedly and Elena turned to Elijah. "We have to go to her."
"I'm afraid that wasn't part of today's arrangement."
"She's our family, Elijah," Elena pleaded. "We have to."
"I'll stay," Lucy volunteered and looked at Elena. "Just—just tell Jenna everything. Tell her I'm sorry, okay?"
"Lucy..." Elena shook her head but sighed when Lucy gave her a firm look. "I'll be back," she promised Elijah. "You have my word."
"That doesn't mean anything to me until you live up to it," Elijah responded.
Elena sighed and ran off, making her way up to the house so she could check on Jenna.
-
"Will you tell me everything?" Lucy asked Elijah once they walked back into the Lockwood mansion and entered the parlor. "About Klaus' curse, about everything? No lies."
"Of course," Elijah agreed and gestured for her to sit; Lucy sat down on the couch facing the fireplace. "Luciana, please understand that I gave you a version of the truth to protect you."
"Protect me?"
"Yes, I figured that the less people who knew the truth, the better," Elijah explained his reasoning. "You see, Henrik did die and it was our mother who turned us into the first vampires—excluding you, of course—to protect us..."
"You see, our family was quite close but Niklaus and our father did not get on too well," Elijah stated. "I'm sure you remember some of this."
"I've seen things," Lucy confirmed, remembering multiple memories where Mikael would take out his anger on Niklaus.
"When we became vampires, we discovered the truth," Elijah went on. "Klaus was not our father's son. Mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline."
Lucy sighed and rubbed her forehead; it would make sense that maybe Mikael sensed that Niklaus was not his son. It didn't give him permission to beat his son black and blue and threaten his life too many times, though.
"Of course, when Father discovered this, he hunted down and he killed Mother's lover and his entire family. Not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day."
"A war between species..." Lucy murmured thoughtfully. "Niklaus' real father was a werewolf?"
Elijah nodded.
"So that would make Niklaus a...?"
"He's a hybrid," Elijah supplied. "A hybrid of a werewolf and a vampire would be deadlier than each of them."
"How did Mother and Father find out about Niklaus, though?" Lucy tried to understand everything. "You break the curse by killing someone, right?"
"Do you recall how I told you that you were attacked by a werewolf?" Elijah asked; Lucy nodded. "It was an accident, of course. Klaus had taken you out on the night of the full moon and you tripped and cut yourself. Niklaus lost control and when he came to, it was too late. You were dead and his curse was broken."
Lucy rested her head on her palm as she soaked in this new information. It was Klaus that had killed her a thousand years ago. In the memories she had with Niklaus, he had always given her most of his attention and he doted on her more than any of his other siblings, Rebekah included. It was clear that he loved her and Elijah had said that his killing her was an accident.
Lucy wasn't mad about Klaus killing her. He had killed her accidentally and she had seen from Stefan—and sometimes Joel—that bloodlust could be too overpowering sometimes. And if they were the original vampires, they were sure to have more bloodlust than others. She wished it wouldn't have happened but she understood.
"Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power," Elijah went on. "Therefore, the witches—the servants of nature—saw to it that our brother's werewolf side would become dormant."
"So that's the curse Klaus wants to break," Lucy assumed. "The one where my blood and that of a doppelganger was used?"
"Yes."
Lucy went to ask another question but the front door to the mansion opened. Seconds later, Elena walked into the parlor and took off her jacket, sitting on the couch next to Lucy.
"Welcome back," Elijah greeted her, surprised to see that she kept her promise.
"Tell me," Elena said flatly. "What's Klaus' curse?"
Elijah immediately went to tell Elena what he had just told Lucy, leaving out the parts that were private to their family, like Henrik and Lucy's deaths. Elena listened patiently, asking questions about what happened here and there.
"...He wants to trigger that part of him that's a werewolf," Elijah finished. "If allowed, Klaus would sire his own bloodline. He'd build his own race, endangering not just vampires, but everyone."
"And you helped him at first?" Lucy asked quietly.
"I helped him because I loved him," Elijah admitted. "That's changed. Now, he must die."
Elena stood up. "We have the dagger now," she said. "We can stop him."
Elijah shook his head. "When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals," he informed them. "An Original can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. So, you see the conundrum. The dagger does not work."
"What, are you saying that Klaus can't be killed?" Elena scoffed.
"There's one way to kill any supernatural species...at the hands of the servants of nature themselves."
Lucy perked up at Elijah's information. "A witch," she said. "If they can channel that much power."
"But it would kill them," Elena pointed out with a sigh.
"The curse must be broken during the full moon. When Klaus is in transition, that is when he'll be at his most vulnerable," Elijah told them. "A witch with enough power can kill Klaus."
Lucy and Elena exchanged looks, silently asking each other if they should tell Elijah about Bonnie. Elena eventually nodded and Lucy agreed with a sigh; if Klaus was vulnerable, maybe Bonnie didn't have to use all her power to kill him. She wouldn't die that way.
But Lucy couldn't help but wonder about Elena.
"What if I told you that we knew a witch that could channel that much power?" Elena asked Elijah.
"Then I would tell you there's one more thing that you should know."
Lucy and Elena listened carefully as Elijah recalled what he had procured from some of his witches before Katherine ran and became a vampire. According to him, he had an elixir that would save Elena's life.
"You found a way to save the life of the doppelganger?" Elena asked in amazement.
"Yes, Elena, I did," Elijah nodded. "But unfortunately, Katerina took matters into her own hands first. I believe you already know how that played out."
Lucy softened at the subtle look in Elijah's eyes. He looked hurt and it made Lucy wonder what really went on between him and Katherine all those years ago.
"You cared about her, didn't you?" she asked him quietly.
Elijah sighed. "It's a common mistake, I'm told," he stiffened, straightened his suit jacket. "It's one I won't make again."
-
When Lucy, Elijah, and Elena walked into the Boarding House—after Lucy invited him in—they immediately heard a commotion going on in the library. They made their way to the room and were surprised to see Stefan and Damon at each other's throats.
Lucy guessed that they were fighting about Elena.
"Stop!" Elena shouted, catching the brothers' attention.
Stefan and Damon immediately broke away from each other and stared at the Gilbert sisters and the Original beside them. Damon's eyebrows started to furrow and his mouth turned into a sneer while Stefan gave them a confused look.
"Now you've invited him in?" Damon asked Elena angrily.
"Elijah, Lucy, and I have renewed the terms of our deal," Elena declared.
"Really?"
"The two of you will come to no harm at my hands," Elijah promised. "I only ask for one thing in return."
Damon raised one eyebrow. "What?"
"An apology."
"A what?" Damon scoffed.
Stefan, it seemed, had no trouble understanding Elijah's simple words. He stepped toward the Original and apologized, "I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena and Lucy. I will always protect them."
Lucy smiled at Stefan, her stomach flipping at his words.
Elijah nodded. "I understand."
"The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon," Elena spoke up, staring at the oldest Salvatore. "Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I'd find another way and I did."
Damon pursed his lips together and raised his eyebrows. "Is that true?"
"It is."
Damon looked away from Elijah after he responded and stared at Elena. "And you're trusting him?"
"I am."
Damon was quiet for a few seconds before he scoffed. "You can all go to hell."
He sped out of the library like a toddler having a tantrum; Stefan sighed and turned back to Elijah.
"He's angry with me right now," he excused his brother. "but he'll come around."
Elijah stared at the doorway that Damon left through. "Perhaps."